What Tale Shall We Tell Our Children

WHAT SHALL WE TELL OUR CHILDREN

When the promises becomes whistling silence
And the mornings tinted with smokes of mournings
When kisses wash off the dry lips
And the hugs peal from our skins
When singing nights becomes the terror
And the day becomes forbidden

What tale then shall we tell our children?
What legacy shall we leave our sons?

That we were helpless when they determined our fate?
That we were careless when they shared our lives?
That we trusted the traitors who worshipped their bellies
That we crown the king who bathed in the blood of his kinsman?

The kola of our history will be too bitter to chew
They will one day stare up at our grey beard and ask

"Father, do you also go to sleep
When they kindle the fire on our roofs"

Those among us who will say the truth we say

"We too betrayed you"

© Olatuja Oloyede